GF Fudge Chip Cookies

In exchange for picking me up from the airport, I offered to bake a friend some cookies. Any cookies, take your pick. Chocolate chip? Peanut butter? Really, anything you like.

"Great," he said, "Doesn't matter, as long as they're gluten free."

Me, on the outside: "Oh, cool! I've never made anything gluten free before. It will be a challenge!" (On the inside: "Oh shit. I don't have any of the crazy ingredients you need to for gluten free baking. This is going to be a much more difficult and expensive project than I anticipated.)

Next step: Message Libby, my undisputed queen of gluten free baking. What should I do?! I don't know anything about baking without gluten. Help!

Libby immediately sends me a well-researched reply with some easy alternatives. Yes! I knew Libby would come through. Super easy and quick cookies--perfect!

These cookies are wonderful because instead of having to purchase wheat flour substitutes and other ingredients that I am not likely to use often, they just omit the flour entirely. They are quick, easy, sweet, crispy-chewy, and extraordinarily chocolatey. Next time I'll mix in walnuts, too, so that the bitter nuttiness can balance the sweetness for an even more complex gluten free cookie experience.

GF Fudge Chip Cookies
~Print Recipe~

• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process preferred
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• Chopped walnuts, to taste 

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment/Silpats.
2. 
   Stir together ingredients through the vanilla, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until smooth. Add chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, and stir until incorporated. The mixture will look quite runny.
3. Drop batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 1/2" circles--use a cookie scoop if you have one.


4. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes; they should spread, become shiny, and develop crackly tops. 
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the pans set on cooling racks.

Amber's Lasagna

It amazes me we do not yet have a recipe for lasagna on RFL yet! I've been making it often recently, and I think I am moving towards perfecting a recipe. That's the trouble with lasagna, is that there is so many different ways to make it, that it is hard to put it all down in one recipe. Here is a method I have cobbled together from a few different recipes, and it seems to be consistently yummy. The real secret to delicious lasagna is the sauce, so that is what you will be spending most of your time making in this recipe.

What's in it
1 package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 bunch chopped fresh basil (divided)
oregano and other preferred italian spices
1 onion, chopped
several cloves garlic, minced (divided)
1 can marinara sauce (28 oz) or a couple jars of your favorite pasta sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pound uncooked italian sausage, removed from casing and chopped (can choose sweet, hot or cheesy herb, etc)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
lots of fresh spinach (at least one bag, if you are buying bagged, and don't forget to wash!)
2 blocks grated havarti cheese (or a mixture of havarti and mozzarella)
1 cup fresh grated parmesean cheese
optional: 1-2 cups cottage cheese

How it's made
Start by making the sauce. In a dutch oven or stock pot, heat olive oil and saute the onion, garlic (reserve some garlic for later) and sausage, until sausage is browned and onions are translucent, season with salt. Then add half the chopped basil and other italian seasonings you have on hand (oregano, thyme, chili flakes, etc). Saute until basil is wilted. Add sauce and tomatoes and bring to simmer. Simmer on low for at least a half hour, to blend the flavors.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients: Combine shredded cheeses in a bowl. Saute garlic in olive oil in a skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until water is evaporated from them, and they are mostly cooked (do not over cook). Add spinach and saute until spinach is wilted.

Once all ingredients are prepared, set up assembly line of noodles, sauce, mushroom/spinach, cheese, chopped basil. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees, and pull out your large lasagna casserole dish. Spread small amount of sauce on bottom of pan, then layer noodles, sauce, mushroom/spinach, cheese and basil. You will be able to make three layers, but be sure to reserve sauce and cheese for very top (4th layer). It helps to apply even pressure to noodles once you lay them down, to compress all ingredients together, just try not to crack the noodles. Your top layer should just be sauce, and have some cheese set aside to sprinkle on top, later. Cover pan with foil (tight) and bake for at least a half hour, until bubbly. Remove foil, sprinkle cheese on top, and bake for another 10 minutes or so until cheese is melted and browned a bit. Remove from oven and let sand at least 20 minutes before serving.

The beauty of lasagna is you can add or subtract ingredients as you desire. You can add bell peppers or other veggies into the mushroom/spinach mixture. Or change up the cheese options. You can layer in sliced hard boiled eggs, as well. For a little more heat, use hot italian sausage and add more chili flakes to sauce. If you don't want to use sausage you can use ground beef. You can also make a huge batch of sauce and use more later for pasta or stuffed shells. Or freeze for next time.